House Natural Resources Committee

Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee

President’s FY 2024 Budget Request for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Office of Insular Affairs

1324 Longworth
Thu, 25 May 2023 13:00:00 GMT

On Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight budget hearing titled “Examining the President’s FY 2024 Budget Request for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Office of Insular Affairs.”

Hearing memo

Witnesses:
  • Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
  • Carmen Cantor, Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs, Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior

The President’s budget request for Indian Affairs programs in FY 2024 is $4.7 billion, an increase of $690 million over FY 2023. This includes $3 billion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), $1.6 billion for the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and $109.1 million for the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration.

During Tribal consultations and listening sessions participants have consistently pointed to the adverse impacts the changing climate is having on Alaska Native subsistence practices and Alaska Native communities, as well as the need to expand Tribal co-management partnerships and the incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge into subsistence management. In response to Tribal recommendations heard through these engagements, the FY 2024 budget proposes to transfer the functions of the Office of Subsistence Management from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, along with a program increase of $2.5 million for the program.

$12 million for the creation of a new Tribal Land and Water Conservation Fund land acquisition program. During listening sessions held last year, Tribes identified having direct access to Land and Water Conservation Fund resources for conservation and recreation projects as one of their top priorities.

The budget includes $385.9 million, a $52.7 million increase over 2023 enacted, for critical trust natural resources activities and investing in climate resilience and environmental justice. Of that amount, $48.0 million is provided for the Tribal Climate Resilience program. This program includes the Tribal Climate Adaptation Grant program, which is funded at $24.8 million to better assess and meet Tribal climate adaptation needs, and the Climate Relocation Grant program, which is funded at $15.5 million, $6 million more than the 2023 enacted amount. The Tribal Climate Resilience program also includes $7.8 million for Tribal youth corps programs.